Music Artist for March 2019: Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley is a folk band fronted by twin sisters Joanna (Jo) and Sophia Babb, paired with the violin of Nia Personette. The trio is keen on telling stories, finding the sweetest harmonies and playing shows where they meet the listeners they are playing for.

Annie Oakley started writing songs after the death of the Babb’s sister’s father in 2011. The family was broken and so were they – the only thing they could do to get through it was write songs.

Nia lost her dad just a year before the Babb sister lost theirs, so through this mutually shared grief, they were made closer than friends. They became three sisters instead of two.

During this period of recovery and self-discovery at the height of adolescence, they ventured from their bedrooms where their songs were written to live audiences with keen listeners. They moved on to bigger stages and places, and soon, they were on the road touring. The trio had no idea that storytelling from the most basic, human level, would bring them to where they are now. They wouldn’t change a thing.

Now they’re graduating from college, starting their own lives and stories, and making a path that isn’t followed by the grief that first brought them to music. Folk music has now become the band’s spark for joy.

“The music scene in Oklahoma has allowed us to hone, grow and cultivate our craft in the most welcoming communities,” said Sophia. “They’ve found it more supportive, more human and even mightier than some of the bigger scenes in more populous states. They’ve been lucky to grow every part of our art here, and they’re always thankful for our Oklahoman roots. They’re branching out of the state, traveling farther and farther from the region with our music, but Oklahoma always calls us back home one way or another.”

The recent release of their first full-length album, Words They Mean, chronicles their transition from youth to young womanhood, from grief to happiness, narrating the first chapter of their story.